&t The Taylor Family: December 2013

Wednesday, December 25

Merry Christmas

Peter and I woke up to little excited voices and giggles and once we figured they couldn’t wait any longer we got up and headed downstairs. The children immediately started telling
us all the things they thought they were getting and how they already knew Abbi got the bike with the bow on it and the Lightning McQueen car in the back must be for Javan. Daddy had to make some coffee and I wanted some hot chocolate, the children could hardly stand that we were making them wait but after we all got comfortable and settled on the floor in the dining room (we still don’t have
a dining room table) Daddy started passing out the gifts. This year Peter and I tried to shop smart. We actually bought quite a few things off Craigslist and VarageSale. The children all got Nintendo DS systems and a ton of games. They had all gotten little things for each other and Bresa got the one thing she wanted the most, an American Girl Doll that looks like her. She named her Jewel. Abbi got a new bike, a bunk bed for her dolls and then thing she asked for 100 times, a chemistry set. Javan got a Lego Fire Station, his Big Wheel Lightning McQueen car, and the Chuggington movie he had been talking about nonstop. I bought Peter the Star Wars blu ray set, a toaster oven, Indian recipe
book, and a few other little things. He got me anti-fatigue mats for the kitchen, a kindle for our upcoming plane ride, and a bunch of little things off of my Amazon wish list. We were all happy with our gifts. I was so happy the kids were able to enjoy a nice Christmas but it didn’t break the bank. We explained to them that some of the gifts were used and that we were able to get more because of it. They didn’t seem like they cared one bit that they didn’t get the latest and greatest or that they had “used presents”. After we opened all the gifts and cleaned up, Javan and Abbi wanted to go outside. Abbi wanted to ride her new bike and I told her it might be a little
difficult because this one doesn’t have training wheels but she is persistent and was up and riding it within just a few seconds. Javan set off cruising in his Lightning McQueen card. I figured I would let them play until the battery died but it just kept going. Eventually I called them in so they could get cleaned up. Peter had gotten a new PS3 game and a second controller for his PS3 (someone gave him the system for free) and he wanted me to play Lego Lord of the Rings with him. Peter’s dad came over for a little bit and we just sat around and talked until I had to start dinner. Overall, we had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas. It was so nice not having to hassle and run or go anywhere, not having any commitments or obligations. We just stayed home and enjoyed our family and the peace of the season. Thank you God for your Son our Savior.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 6:02 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, December 24

Christmas Eve

With Peter playing three services at church every year for Christmas
Eve it’s hard to have any restful or sweet time on this day. When I was a child we would go to one of my Aunt’s houses where all of my Dad’s 6 brothers and sisters and their families would be and have dinner and open gifts for hours. It’s sad for me to not be able to make any of those memories for my kids but in a way we are making our own new traditions whether we mean to or not. Peter has been playing Christmas Eve for the last 5 or 6 years so after about 3pm we don’t get to see him much until the next day. We always go to one of the
services but Peter is on stage the whole time so he doesn’t get to sit with us. We see him before and after though and then we go back home. For dinner I made the children Macaroni and Cheese (their choice) and I just had leftovers. Peter had subs that the church provided since they were going to be there all night. When it started to get late the kids all got ready for bed and then we set up the plate for Santa and his reindeer. Kisses all around and then the kids were off to bed. I finished up some last minute wrapping and waited for Peter
to come home between the 2nd and 3rd service. He had a good 2 hours before he had to be back at church for the midnight service and since the kids were already asleep we played Santa so that I wouldn’t have to wait up until after the last service to set everything up. We had told the children before they went to bed that they were not allowed to go in the dining room in the morning. We told them they could look at everything from the tile but not to step onto the carpet at all. They always get up way earlier than we do so we told them they had to wait for us.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 10:59 PM   0 comments

Sunday, December 22

Spreading Christmas Joy

Our church always has amazing Christmas Eve
services and we want the whole world to come hear the Christmas story so I decided that we would make cookies for our neighbors and attach invitations to our Christmas Eve Services to each of them. The children were excited to make cookies (I think mostly because they knew they’d get to try them). They all helped (mostly the girls) and then when it was time to bake them up we all waited as the house filled with the sweet smell
of warm cookies. When they came out and were cooled we separated them into as many bags as we could make (after putting a few aside for Santa) and then added ribbon to tie them shut and put the invite on them. When Peter was through with work we went door to door in our neighborhood and handed everyone a bag of cookies and invited them to Christmas Eve.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 4:55 PM   0 comments

Sunday, December 15

The Christmas Tree Farm

Peter and I had heard rave reviews about “the Christmas Tree Farm” in Eustis. We were told there were all sorts of things to do for Halloween and Christmas. Some of our friends make it a priority to get out there at least once every year. I had looked at the website in the past but I always let time slip away and we never made it there. This year things seemed tighter than ever with Peter producing the Christmas Eve Service
at church he has meetings and practice just about every night but to me, that just meant we really needed to get out as a family for some sweet time together. We didn’t have much time but after Peter was through playing for the service at church we grabbed some quick lunch at home and then headed to Eustis hoping we would have enough time to have some fun and get back before Peter had to be back at practice tonight. It was about a 40 minute drive but it was nice and in quiet country areas so the scenery was different than we were used to. When we got to the farm we scoped out the area and then went back to purchase tickets for what we decided we wanted to do. Really, the kids wanted to do everything but we knew we couldn’t afford that so we had to narrow it done. We offered all the children the chance to go on the zip line but only Abbi was brave enough to do it. We went through a cool
maze where we had to find all the Christmas pictures and mark them off of our lists. When we were through the kids each got a treat for finding everything. The children got to sit and talk to Santa in a sleigh and after looking at the cool real wreaths and all the cut trees for sale we took a hayride through the Christmas Tree Lot where you can go pick your own tree to cut down. We weren’t in need of a tree but it was pretty cool to see how you’re really supposed to do it. They also had horseback rides, a petting zoo, and a big bounce pillow thing that the kids could do but we had to be careful of the money we spent and we had to get back so Peter could get to practice. We had a good time and got to get some family time in. Maybe next year we can go back to see what they have for Halloween.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 6:52 PM   0 comments

Friday, December 6

St. Nick’s Night

We were a little afraid that St. Nick wouldn’t know where are new house
was but when Javan went to see him at the mall, Santa said he had updated his lists and maps in his GPS and we shouldn’t worry. Tonight the children all picked out one shoe and we put them out on the doorstep for St. Nick to stop by and drop off a present. Every year he brings the children an ornament for the tree. I wonder what they will wake up to tomorrow.

posted by We are the Taylors @ 7:51 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, December 4

Santa’s Little Helper

posted by We are the Taylors @ 1:49 PM   0 comments

Sunday, December 1

My favorite people

posted by We are the Taylors @ 1:41 PM   0 comments